Boco Clontarf

Tell us about Boco in Clontarf?

The original Boco opened on the corner of Bolton Street and Capel Street in 2017, and has always flown somewhat under the radar when it comes to the continuous conversation about Dublin's best places to eat. Despite a loyal band of customers shouting about them every chance they get (we see your DMS), and consistently sky high scores on review sites, they've never quite managed the same column inches as places like Bambino/Reggie's/Pi.

In the mid-Covid world of 2020 they opened a pizza fire truck at the back of the beautiful Harry Byrne's pub in Clontarf, serving pizza to grateful locals who soon became Boco loyalists. When word got out that they were looking for a second location with a roof and walls to call home, those people were VERY excited. They secured the former Pigeon House site at the start of 2025, but it's been the longest, slowest wait for them to open the doors and fire the ovens, so when they finally announced that the day had come a few weeks ago, celebrations were heard up and down the Clontarf Road.

Where's the best place to sit?

There's a few distinct seating areas in here. Towards the back you've got high tables seating up to four, with prime views of the pizza ovens working overtime. The front section has nicely spaced out tables and was full of families, high chairs and buggies when we visited early evening.

If you want more privacy/peace try to get a table around the corner in the alcove-type area - this section would be great for a group/party too.

Then at the front you've got an expansive indoor/outdoor space with heaters and a retractable roof. Let us lay it down in print - these will be the most in demand, spritz-filled tables in Clontarf this summer.

What's on the menu?

Small plates, salads, pizzas and dips are the gist, with a nice mix of deep-fried bits and healthier veggie add-ons like padron peppers and rocket salad. You can take the small plates as starters or sides, and staff happily fired ours first with the pizzas to follow after.

We've been finding a LOT of A-grade focaccia in Dublin over the past year, and Boco's crunchy on the bottom, fluffy on the inside, lardo and leek draped masterpiece (€7) is up there with the best. To get that brittle bottom you need to use more oil than we'd dare to home, and the equally melted and crisped up lardo is the focaccia hack we'll be putting to use at home.

Deep-fried onion strings with buffalo garlic mayo (€7) are worth an order too - tempura-crisp without being greasy, with the buffalo garlic sauce having the perfect amount of spice and tang. Multiple diving hands meant these mysteriously disappeared within seconds of landing on the table.

There are three substantial salads, all with an amount of thought well beyond 'menu filler', with ingredients like a Wildwood elderberry and star anise vinaigrette a good illustration. The most appealing to us was the prosciutto and black grape, with mixed leaves, artichoke, walnuts, Pecorino and that vinaigrette (€14), and if you ended up here with a coeliac/non pizza lover they won't feel like they've had a second rate experience.

Chips were surprisingly great too (how often do you say that in a pizzeria?), fried in oil hot enough to give those burnished edges that shatter on biting. We went for Parmesan (€6.50) which came with roasted garlic mayo, and finished off the silver cup wondering if there was anything that these guys would fall down on.

It didn't happen with the pizzas anyway. As Neapolitan bases go, Boco's would make you emotional. The puffed up cornicione, the blistered charring, the crusts so tender there was little work in the chewing - there's a fine art to pizza, and if they can consistently deliver this kind of base, we have no concerns about them keeping their seats full.

Get the # 7 for no other reason than to taste this vodka sauce, which is like getting a mouthful of ripe tomatoes in Puglia mid-summer. Typically vodka sauce has cream in it - this is pure tomato and all the better for it. The Fior di Latte, salami soppressata, jalapeños and Parmesan are loaded on in perfect proportions, and this just needs a glass of Lambrusco on the side for optimum enjoyment.

Any pizza with miso in the name is going to grab our attention, which is how the # 9 with miso butter, wild Irish mushrooms, Stracciatella and porcini crumb ended up on the table. You know when you build something up in your head and then it's just not as good IRL? This was the opposite, umami flying all over the place, the texture contrasts a home run.

One of the main reasons we raced to Clontarf was the promise of an Osso Bucco pizza with gremolata, but it was short-lived (apparently it was too time-consuming and customers didn't get it - who are these people and where can we lock them up?)

Begrudgingly we changed our pre-planned order to the # 10 with mascarpone, Tallegio, Italian sausage, kale, confit garlic, Parmesan, and pickled shallots. This one had a lot going for it, but was missing the oomph moment. Shallots tasted raw rather than pickled, and the sausage was under seasoned. Was it a bad pizza? Definitely not, we're very much into nit-picking territory, but we'll try others next time.

Desserts follow the pizzeria standard of creamy things in cup-like vessels, and if it ain't broke don't fix it. Both the Key Lime Mess and Stout Tiramisu were valiant endings, both with enough interesting elements so as not to feel like something thrown together post the main event. If you like a boozy dessert both the affogato with Frangelico and the biscotti with PX sherry will tick the box nicely. Like your dessert in liquid form? There's three dessert cocktails too, including a frozen Irish coffee, and a salted caramel espresso martini. Is there anything these guys can't/won't do?

It's a pizzeria. Are the drinks any good?

The first line on the wine list says "all of our wines are organic" - another stake in the ground that shows you how much thought has gone into every part of this operation. The majority of bottles are under €50, with a nice variety of grapes, countries and styles - you'll find something you like here. There are also four house cocktails, six classics, and seven spritzes, including Aperol, Limoncello and Basil. Tick, tick tick. The beers, soft drinks and no alcohol options have plenty of interesting options too - everything is covered.

If you come to a pizzeria and don't drink Lambrusco you should be shown the door (just our humble opinion), and the Quercioli here does the job nicely, at a saintly 11.5% alcohol. We also tried a pleasantly fizzy, well-balanced Sbagliato - like a Negroni with Campari, Vermouth, and prosecco instead of gin to lighten the alcohol.

How was the service?

Young, eager and very pleasant - they've hired for personality and it comes across. If anything was slightly delayed there were apologies, and information (plus wine tastes) were offered up graciously. We never felt stranded or in need of anything for too long, and the food was nicely paced as per our request, despite the place being packed to the rafters.

What did the bill come to?

€133 before tip for three small plates, a salad, three pizzas, two dips, two desserts and two drinks - easily enough for three hungry people, or four normal ones. This felt like the best value meal we'd had in ages.

What's the verdict on Boco in Clontarf?

Boco is somewhere that many Dubliners have taken for granted for too long. Maybe because of its unglamourous Bolton Street location, or its student associations being a one minute walk from TU Dublin, but with this second location we're wagering that's about to change. If you need a reference point, this is the Reggie's of the Northside, and we're predicting a similar demand. During our meal many, many people were turned away at the door after some sad sniffs of what was coming out of the kitchen, and longing gazes at clinking glasses filled with Aperol Spritz. Don't be like them - get planning your visit now.